Of Lions and Snakes
by PandoraIK
Summary: Based during the Half Blood Prince. Ginny Weasley is looking for an adventure of her own. Follows HBP plot closely and will be GWDM with some GWHP. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Of Lions and Snakes**

**Chapter One**

The engine spluttered and began to roar as the Hogwarts Express threatened to take flight with or without all of its passengers.

Molly Weasley stood on the platform with her husband, sobbing and kissing goodbye her two youngest children as well as Harry Potter and Hermione Grainger. The train gave one last warning and the four children hurriedly jumped onto the train.

As the train sped out of the station and away from Platform nine and three quarters, only Ginny Weasley was left, staring at the spot where her mother had just been. Ron reappeared and Ginny turned her attention to him.

"Why must she cry like that every time!" She asked exasperatedly.

He smiled fondly down at his little sister, already dressed in her school uniform. "Ah, you know mum. Come on, we'll go find a compartment for you." He said, still smiling at her. She smiled back and thought better than to tell him that she had plans to meet Dean.

They headed down the train and found Hermione on her way to the prefects lounge. "Ron there you are!" She began, but turned to Ginny instead. "So Gin, you excited about your OWLs this year?" Hermione asked enthusiastically.

"Erm, yeah I guess." Ginny replied, blushing a bit. Of course she wasn't looking forward to her OWLs, but she knew Hermione would not be satisfied by that answer.

"Well that's good. Oh, Ron, we need to be in the prefects lounge in five minutes." She stated in her matter-of-fact tone.

"Well, I was just helping Ginny find a compartment…" He began with a frown, but was cut off by Ginny.

"Oh, that's alright, Ron. You go with Hermione and I'll go find a compartment." She replied cheerfully.

"Well I guess…" Ron started, but was dragged away by Hermione, who turned around to give the younger girl a quick wink. Hermione and Ginny were good friends, and Hermione knew about Dean and their proposed meeting.

She watched her brother go until he was completely out of sight and then turned and headed to find Dean. As she searched for the compartment that Dean was in, she bumped into Harry. Then she realized that with Ron and Hermione off doing prefects business, Harry was all alone. He approached her.

"Fancy trying to find a compartment?"

"I can't, Harry, I said I'd meet Dean," said Ginny brightly. "See you later."

_A/N: If you've read the Half Blood Prince, than you might have recognized that last conversation. Straight from the book, as this whole story will be. Hope you enjoyed it!_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Another small chappy, but I promise to make the next one longer. I didn't get any reviews for the first chapter, so please, please, please! Review! BTW I think I should take this time to mention that I own none of the characters and the brilliance behind them; that all belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling._

**Of Lions and Snakes**

**Chapter Two**

The first week of school consisted mostly of classes and homework. Dean had become a nuisance, always distracting her in the common room, so she spent most of her evenings hidden away in the library.

About mid-week, Ginny had sat in the back of the library, feverishly studying defensive curses. It was about eight o'clock and Ginny had already been studying for over an hour. She had chosen to take a desk beside the window, and now her attention had wandered to the grounds below her.

It was fairly dark already, but the dim twilight permitted her to see just well enough. Over by Hagrid's hut, she could see a few garden gnomes goofing off on the lawn. One particularly feisty looking gnome charged at a rather scared looking gnome, knocking him over. They rolled around on the lawn while a few other gnomes pointed and laughed.

The situation had put a lively smile on Ginny Weasley's face, but this faded as something else outside caught her attention. She stood up and neared the window to get a better look at what she thought she saw.

Even though it was fairly dark and getting darker every moment, she could clearly make out what she was seeing; someone had just come out of the dark forest and was slinking up towards the castle doors, and that person, she could now tell clearly, was Draco Malfoy.

She frowned and watched as he strode through the grass and around the corner. She could think of no good reason why Malfoy would be out on the grounds this late at night, let alone in the dark forest. She considered going back to the common to tell Ron, Harry and Hermione what she had witnessed, but then, she knew, they would go investigate and leave her behind. No, she would not tell the others, but she would find out, one way or another, what Draco Malfoy was up to.


	3. Chapter 3

**Of Lions and Snakes**

**Chapter Three**

It was a few days after Ginny had seen Malfoy out on the grounds. For the past few days Ginny had been watching him at every meal for clues, but he always acted perfectly normal. She was beginning to lose interest in her secret little mystery.

It was Friday evening and Ginny had decided to get a head start on her weekend homework. She had unceremoniously dumped her school robe and uniform on her dormitory floor and replaced them with jeans and a light blue jumper.

She had taken her usual spot at the window in the library, studying potions this time. She had magically stationed her red hair atop her head in a high ponytail, because she could not concentrate with it constantly creeping into her face.

After a well spent hour and a half of studying OWL level potions, she took again to letting her attention wander, this time to inside the library. There was a table of Ravenclaws religiously studying and a table of Hufflepuffs who invariably were not studying as their books were closed and their mouths constantly open. Finding these people of no good entertainment, she looked through the rows upon rows of books.

She stopped her gaze at the forbidden section of the library, as she saw the bottom of a robe disappear behind a shelf. She casually rose and strolled closer to an unoccupied couch, trying not to arouse any suspicion. She saw it again; the swish of a school robe disappearing behind a shelf, this time she had seen a shock of white-blond hair atop its head. It had to be Draco Malfoy, with that characteristic Malfoy hair, and he was speeding through the shelves and eventually out of the library altogether.

She counted to ten in her head before slipping silently out of the library and pulling out her wand. There was no sign of which direction he had taken, so she stole left and headed speedily towards the dungeons. Turning a few corners she saw the blond hair as he turned a corner ahead of her. She waited a moment, knowing he had sensed her presence. In this time she heard the sound of a classroom door opening and closing hastily. She whipped around the corner and stared at the door.

She put her hand on the knob and turned gently – it opened. It was pitch dark, being in the dungeons, and she saw nothing as she peered in from the doorway. She took a hasty step in and the door slammed shut behind her, revealing him.

He approached her slowly, slow enough not to alarm her to the degree that she would raise her wand to him. She slowly backed away and the back of her knees ran into a desk. He smirked at her, his gray, wolf like eyes boring into her own brown ones and she stared defiantly back at him.

"Well look what we have here. A little weasel has crawled into the serpents den". He whispered eerily, moving ever closer. His hair was mussed and in his eyes, which were maniacal and reminded Ginny of Tom Riddle's. "Now, little weasel, why is it that you are following me, hm? Are you looking for trouble? You should know not to wander out of the safety of your precious Potter's reach…" He spat, glaring down at her.

His presence was overbearing and made her knees feel like jelly and she hated feeling intimidated by anyone. "What were you doing in the forest at night earlier this week?" She asked boldly, forgetting that it was _she _that was cornered and in no position to be demanding answers.

"So you've made a hobby out of watching me, have you, weasel? Given up the role of president of the Potter fan club?" Every time he brought up Harry's name, the venom poured through his words.

Ginny smirked, finding her inner Gryfindor courage. "When have you taken up the hobby of avoiding questions by answering them with irrelevant questions?" He slammed his hands down hard on both sides of her, on the desktop she was now heavily leaning on.

"Watch your step, weasel, you are in no position to be talking back to _me_." He leaned all his weight against her and whispered into her ear, "If you really find it entertaining to follow me around and spy on me, why don't you stop by my bedroom later on tonight and I can put you to some proper use." He said it with calm confidence and Ginny could only press her lips together and keep quiet.

He pushed his weight off of her and turned to the door. As he left the dark room, he replied, "Oh, and stop staring at me during meals, people are starting to notice". And with that he strolled out of the room leaving Ginny Weasley alone, in the dark, and reeling with anger.

Ginny Weasley's secret little mystery was starting to become interesting, and she still planned to keep it to herself.

_A/N: That was SO MUCH fun to write, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. _


End file.
